Simulation facility Exemptions (Generic Letter 90-08)

August 10, 1990
TO: ALL HOLDERS OF OPERATING LICENSES OR CONSTRUCTION PERMITS FOR
NUCLEAR POWER REACTORS
SUBJECT: SIMULATION FACILITY EXEMPTIONS (GENERIC LETTER 90-08)
This Generic Letter is being issued to remind the addressees of the need to
meet the schedule requirements for the use of simulation facilities in the
administration of operating tests established in Section 55.45(b) of Title
10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). This Generic Letter also
describes the review of exemption requests and the potential consequences
for failure to meet the requirements of Section 55.45(b). It is expected
that addressees will review this letter for applicability to their
facilities.
Section 306 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 USC 10226) required
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to establish, among other things,
requirements for operating tests at simulators. The NRC accomplished this
objective by revising 10 CFR Part 55, effective May 26, 1987. These
regulations, in conjunction with 10 CFR 50.54(i-1), require facility
licensees to use simulation facilities when administering operating tests.
These regulations further require that a certified or NRC-approved
simulation facility must be used to administer operating tests after May 26,
1991.
In accordance with 10 CFR 55.45(b)(1), facility licensees may either apply
for Commission approval for use of a simulation facility or they may certify
that their simulation facility consists solely of a plant-referenced
simulator. Section 55.45(b)(2) establishes the required schedule for the
initial submittal of either an application or a certification. Sections
55.45(b)(2)(i) and (ii) require facility licensees proposing to apply for
NRC approval to submit a plan to do so by May 26, 1988, and to submit the
application by November 26, 1990. Section 55.45(b)(2)(iii) requires
facility licensees proposing to certify plant-referenced simulators to
submit Form 474, "Simulation Facility Certification," by March 26, 1991.
Section 55.45(b)(2)(iv) requires that, after May 26, 1991, the simulation
facility portion of the operating test, which is required to be completed
for both initial licensing and requalification examinations administered by
NRC and for annual operating tests for facility requalification programs,
not be administered on other than a certified or approved simulation
facility.
As stated in the "Supplementary Information" published with the final
version of 10 CFR Part 55 in the Federal Register (52 FR 9453, March 25,
1987), the NRC expected each facility licensee to have a simulation facility
available within a reasonable period of time after the effective date of the
new rule but not later than 4 years after the effective date. It was
further stated that any deviations from the time requirements of 10 CFR
55.45(b) would be addressed on a case-specific basis. Therefore, facility
licensees who believe they will not be able to meet the time requirements
should request exemptions as soon as possible so that the request may be
reviewed and, where appropriate, granted so that the facility licensees will
not be in violation of the regulations discussed above.
9008080047
.
Generic Letter 90-08 - 2 - August 10, 1990
The NRC will consider requests for exemptions in accordance with 10 CFR
50.12. Items that will be considered when reviewing justifications for
exemption requests include the licensees' reasons for not meeting the
schedule requirements including their actual order dates and estimated
completion dates for new or upgraded simulation facilities and the means for
conducting operating tests until a certified or approved simulation facility
is available. Special circumstances, as described in 10 CFR 50.12(a)(2),
must be present for any exemption to be granted.
An exemption request would be covered by Office of Management and Budget
Clearance Number 3150-0011, which expires January 31, 1991. The estimated
average burden hours for an exemption request would be approximately four
person hours. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other
aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing
this burden, to the Information and Records Management Branch (MNBB-7714),
Division of Information Support Services, Office of Information Resources
Management, U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC 20555; and
to the Paperwork Reduction Project (3150-0011), Office of Management and
Budget, Washington, DC 20503.
If you have any questions about this letter, please contact the technical
contact listed below or the appropriate NRR project manager.
Sincerely,
James G. Partlow, Associate Director
for Projects
Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation
Technical Contact: N. Hunemuller, NRR
(301) 492-3173
Enclosure:
List of Recently Issued Generic Letters
.ENDEND